On the Air

In support of the November/December 2025 article “Ten Tips for Programming Your 2-Meter Handheld,” Karin Thompson, KD4DXX, of RT Systems, joins the podcast to talk about how to approach the crucial task of programming your handheld.

Jessica Crotty, CEO of C. Crane, a northern California company known for designing and supporting quality radios and communication products, visits the podcast in support of her November/December 2025 On the Air article “Confidence in Preparedness Starts with Knowing Your Equipment.” The conversation centers on the importance of not only having a license and a radio, but also knowing the ins and outs of using that radio, long before the day you need it.

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, joins the podcast in support of the September/October 2025 article “The EOC: Serving at the Hub,” by Rick Palm, K1CE, which talks about what an Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, is, and offers tips for hams who are serving at an EOC for the first time. Josh takes us through more Emergency Operations Center functions, as well as what hams need to know before they walk into one.

The podcast welcomes Violetta Latham, KN2P, a young contester who has had the opportunity to operate at some big, famous contest stations such as K3LR, PJ2T, and W3LPL. Violetta will talk about how she got started in contesting and how she got to where she is today.

Portable operating in the Parks On the Air (POTA) program is one of the most popular ham radio activities these days. Colin Wheatley, W9UPK, author of the July/August 2025 of On the Air article, “POTA Activators and Hunters: The Great Symbiosis,” joins the podcast to explain more about how POTA works, and how to get in on the fun.

Everybody's talking about everyday carry, or EDC, the trendy name for the collection of necessities you tote around with you every day, whether it's in a pocket or a bag. ARRL Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, joins the podcast to talk about easy ways to make radio part of your everyday carry.

With ARRL Field Day weekend just a little more than two weeks away, we talk to ARRL’s Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE; Digital RF Engineer John McAuliffe, W1DRF and Education and Learning Support Specialist Max Freedman, N4ML, about how newer hams can navigate the most popular on-air event of the year. Get recommendations for setups, modes, goals, and more.

ARRL Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, returns to the podcast to walk readers through his May/June 2025 On the Air article, "Building Simple Antennas for 10 and 15 Meters."

This month, ARRL Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, returns to the podcast to update us on ARRL’s new monthly livestream, On the Air Live. The April session of On the Air Live will be a tutorial on the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS). A handheld radio will allow you to use the APRS. Listen in to find out how easy it is, and how to join the April 22 session of On the Air Live.

There are a variety of antennas that a ham can use on the VHF and UHF bands, from simple whips, all the way up to directional beams. This month’s podcast walks you through the various types and their use cases.

World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) is April 18 every year, and in 2025, WARD is extra special. ARRL invites radio clubs and schools to organize a Ham Radio Open House in April, to highlight the Amateur Radio Service for its development and practice of the latest radio communications and technology, and as a hands-on pathway into STEM fields for the next generation. ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX, and Associate Professor of Physics and Engineering at the University of Scranton, Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, join the podcast to talk about what a Ham Radio Open House might include, and how your club or group can start organizing one.

In preparation for the first On the Air Live interactive livestream launching on January 28, we take a look at the topic: slow-scan TV (SSTV), a ham radio mode that allows you to use RF to send static images. Steve Ford, WB8IMY, author of “SSTV: When a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” in the January/February 2025 issue of On the Air, joins the podcast to share the basics of this mode. Visit learn.arrl.org to register for the January 28 livestream!

In early 2025, the ARRL Education & Learning Department will launch an interactive livestreamed video podcast, On the Air Live. The monthly episodes will be aimed toward educating new and intermediate-level hams, inspiring them to explore the nearly endless aspects of amateur radio and develop their skills. ARRL Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, who will host each episode, joins the On the Air podcast to share more details, including upcoming topics and how to participate in real time.

December is Youth on the Air Month, also known as YOTA Month, and there are plans to celebrate young operators all month long. Blake Pearson, KN4VKY, one of the Americas YOTA Month Participation Coordinators, joins the podcast to explain how young hams can apply to use one of the official YOTA Month call signs, and how you can take part in the YOTA Month operating events no matter what age you are.

The ARES Task Book is an important resource and reference for amateur radio operators who hope to be of service to their communities. ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, joins the podcast to talk about the task book’s place in a ham’s training, as well as recent updates to the book.

The 10-meter band offers something for hams of every license class, including Technicians, who can use voice, Morse code, and digital modes on this band. Scott Freeberg, WA9WFA, joins this episode of the podcast to take us on “A Tour of 10 Meters,” and to explain why right now is the best time to get on the band, thanks to the terrific radio wave propagation being generated by Solar Cycle 25.

The podcast takes a field trip to W1AW, ARRL’s Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, to hear from W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, about all the ways to “Practice Code with W1AW,” from daily code practice sessions at a speed that suits you, to Qualifying Runs where you can earn certificates for submitting accurate copy.

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, joins the podcast to share details about ARRL's updated Emergency Communication courses, which have been broken into three successive levels – Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. The courses are available free of charge at the ARRL Learning Center.

ARRL Radiosport and Regulatory Information Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, and ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, join the June episode of the podcast to spread the excitement about ARRL Field Day, which is coming up on June 22 - 23.

This year’s Dayton Hamvention, coming up May 17-19 in Xenia, Ohio, will be extra special — it’s also the 2024 ARRL National Convention. ARRL Director of Marketing & Innovation Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, joins this month’s podcast to share details about ARRL-sponsored activities at the show, including several of the ARRL-sponsored forums and the Youth Rally.

We often hear about served agencies when hams talk about disaster response and emergency communications. ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, joins the podcast this month to discuss exactly what and who served agencies are, and where the Amateur Radio Service fits into their responses.

The Solar Eclipse QSO Party (or SEQP), is an on-air event coming up on April 8, the same day as the next total solar eclipse. The SEQP is a great opportunity for hams to contribute data to studies of Earth’s ionosphere, the part of our atmosphere that makes radio communications possible, and all you have to do is get on the air and operate as you normally would. The lead organizer of HamSCI, Dr. Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, joins us in this episode to explain how to get involved.

The January/February 2024 issue of On the Air featured a story from Brian McSpadden Gardener, KE8JVX, about “The First-Year Experiences of a General-Class Ham,” in which Brian detailed how he got his feet wet as a General, and how he put together his first station for HF. Brian joins this episode of the podcast to tell us a little more about his first year as a General, as well as what he’s done since then.

Maintaining a “junk box” — a collection of odds and ends that can be used in future projects and repairs — is a time-honored practice among hams. Every ham radio junk box has to start somewhere, though. The cover story of the January/February 2024 issue of On the Air, “A Fine Mess: Starting Your Junk Box,” by Eric P. Nichols, KL7AJ, offers advice about how to do just that. The January 2024 episode of the On the Air podcast digs deeper by going on location to the workshop of W1AW, ARRL’s Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station. Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, welcomes us into this working space to show us some real-life junk boxes and discuss how they come in handy. Check out the VIDEO edition of this episode: Starting Your Junk Box (youtube.com)

This episode ties into a feature in the November/December issue called “Bits and Baud,” which discussed important elements of digital communication, namely the quantity of information a transmission delivers -- known as bit rate -- and the rate of speed at which the information is delivered, which is known as baud rate. The article’s author, former QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY, joins us to explain more about the differences between bit rate and baud rate, as well as why hams are concerned with these measurements in the first place.